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Do authors really need to read this book? That was the question on my mind when I reached out to Kawasaki to learn more. Kawasaki is a very busy guy, and I could detect from our interactions that he was passionate that every author be given the chance to learn the advantages of self-publishing.

From my perspective, he delivers.

“I wrote APE because I found out how hard it is to self-publish a book when I wrote What the Plus! It drove me crazy to think that people are struggling with a process that should be about creativity and the dissemination of information, not figuring out formats and reseller deals. So I wrote a book to solve this problem,” said Kawasaki. Therein lays the difficulty for most authors. Most would rather self-publish given the increased flexibility, time to market and higher royalties, but the process of creating a quality book and having it properly marketed is challenging.

“The process takes twelve to eighteen months to publish a book—Apple introduces new models of iPhones faster than that,” Kawasaki explains. In my interview with him, Kawasaki acknowledged that traditional publishers are behind, even detrimental to authors in some circumstances: “The issue is that they <publishers> are limited to the traditional way of making money: selling books printed on paper to customers who are willing to wait twelve months for a book and who use the publisher’s imprint as a proxy for quality. Those days are gone.”

I’d agree. Publishers need to evolve their business models to reflect a new reality and one that is closely aligned to the author’s. Currently there are several disconnects. Publisher policies of tightly controlled copyrights, an emphasis on paper and the printed book, a narrow focus on the book and not the author, and marketing through traditional channels – use to be the right model in a world limited by trees, shelf space and access to editorial expertise. But we’re not living in that world anymore.

Instead, publishers should aspire to provide a publishing launching pad where authors can launch their own moon shot, their own speaking career, their own online community, their own cause. By providing authors additional means to monetize their content, Publishers will make more money by aligning themselves to all of an author’s potential income opportunities.

For me, here are the 5 Key Takeaways from Kawasaki and his Book

Kawasaki believes that DRM constraints limit the distribution of their books. I’m not sure about that, but certainly the lack of DRM will provide more opportunities for people to read your book.

Kawasaki explains: “I focus on the joy of reading, so my advice is for authors to better monetize their IP by ensuring broad, timely, and inexpensive distribution to as much of the world as possible. Authors should trust people and not implement all sorts of heinous DRM. Life is simple: write a good book, get it out there quickly, price it reasonably, and trust your customers. ”

2. Build your personal brand before you start selling the book.

You can’t rely on publishers to promote your book anymore; Kawasaki says, it’s therefore imperative to build your own platform before the book is released. What he means is to build a network or community of people that are interested in your content. That way, when the book is released, you have thousands of people likely to buy it. That’s solid advice.

“The day you start writing is the day you should start building your brand,” Kawasaki suggests.

3. The secret for increasing an author’s odds for success are…

According to Kawasaki: “One method that no one uses, though it’s hardly a secret, is to solicit feedback on your outline and your draft. I solicit feedback from literally millions of people who follow me on social media by uploading the entire outline of a book when I begin writing. Then I offer the full manuscript to anyone who wants to edit it near the end of the process. This yields two great results. First, lots of insightful feedback. Second, the moment your book is available on Amazon, people who have really read it can post reviews.”

This is a big idea – by crowdsourcing the editing of the book, you become invested in its success. You’re also more likely to buy it and recommend it to others.

4. You are your best marketing asset, but don’t forget the PR company.

For most of the book, Kawasaki and co-author Shawn Welch suggest authors need to “own the marketing” whether or not they self-published or work with a publisher.

“The lesson is that you need to conduct an introduction campaign that reaches out to hundreds of publications as well as your social-media following. I’m not suggesting firing a shotgun into the cyberspace, but there are probably 200 relevant targets for any genre. “

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While I agree with Mr. Kawasaki that self-publishing offers great opportunities to new authors (and I am one of them!) I don’t think traditional , or ‘legacy’ as it’s now called, publishing will die. Publishers certainly need to evolve their methods to combat fierce competition from Amazon and other companies offering a quick solution to publishing. However, despite the fact that big publishers STILL ignore great new authors, who then self-publish, make millions and promptly snap up a legacy contract – interesting they are so quick to do it – changing an archaic and entrenched structure would be like trying to turn the Titanic on a sixpence. Granted, publishers should have started adapting long ago. However, the sheer volume of total garbage that has been produced via DIY publishing, and the sheer continued volume that is still to come as the process gets easier and cheaper, puts many dedicated readers off. I review for a US book site and I can promise you that in many of the books I review it’s very clear the author did NOT turn on the grammar and spell check. (Insane?) For self-publishing to improve, one needs a critical reader reaction. That has not yet happened, as one can see by the success of badly-written books that resonate with the public’s imagination (no names mentioned), attract the attention of big publishers, the author signs a new deal and voila, DIY author becomes a traditionally published author. See the pattern emerging? Perhaps DIY is the only way big publishers can find new talent these days. Parents, the most traditional of creatures (despite many a wild adolescence and YA-hood) nearly always want their kids to read ‘real’ books. Then take the kind of books that just cannot make the leap successfully to a small screen you can slip into a pocket or handbag – coffee table books or photography/art books, wildlife and travel books. And let’s not forget the movie money-spinners … Companion Gudies To. Best example is my recent trip to the bookshop adjacent the movie theatre showing The Hobbit. Maybe South Africa (where I live) is still clinging to a traditional reading culture, but the bookshop was bright, colourful, filled with the latest releases and had a huge display of all kinds of books devoted to The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, both movie and book guides. From sketchbooks, to Guides To Middle-earth, to art books, to anything designed to tempt a reader wanting a real book to touch and turn those pages, something was there. When Gutenberg invented the printing press, he created a legacy that will be hard to dismiss in a matter of e-years (since time goes by so fast between new apps and phones). I hope I have not veered too much off the subject in my little pro-book rant above. However, despite everyone’s opinion that print is dead and publishers had better watch out, print will never die and legacy publishing will ultimately change, albeit slowly. The only thing e-books have at the moment to recommend them is price and convenience. There’s so much rubbish out there that print books, that have gone through a meticulous grooming process, still win hands down when it comes to quality of content. In addition, the bully-boy tactics of Amazon and other companies that set limits on issues like reviews, free books, and where one can or cannot sell books will also eat into their newly-won legions of fans. I think authors should focus on creating work that stands head and shoulders above the dross (turning on the spell check is the vital first step) and as Mr. Kawasaki advises, creating their own marketing methods that draw readers. After all, writers write for readers to read their work. Otherwise, what’s it all about?

I like book stores too, but they haven’t evolved into anything that people want to visit anymore. There’s probably a retail opportunity to combine books with some other form of education and entertainment that will bring people back to the stores.

I agree with Guy, Traditional publishers (as defined by 1990′s publishers) days are numbered. Some publishers like O’Reilly are evolving and will become more relevant.

As you say there is a lot of DIY crap, but there’s just as much great content from traditional publishers that are not marketing properly and are not seen by people who would enjoy them. Traditional publishers are a blockbuster bunch, who only seem to put marketing muscle behind their immediate winners.

They have also longed blocked great content from being published. The list is long.

“They haven’t eveoloved into anything people want to visit anymore”? Are you kidding? An old, rare bookstore–thankfully “unevolved”–is one of the few places worth visiting anymore….

And please, must we always have to draw in the masses through “entertainment” as you suggest? Is there not enough imbecilic distraction in the world as it is? How about this idea: a bookstore as a beautiful, sublime environment encouraging concentration and adventures of teh imagination..

NOTHING will ever replace the feel of a great book in hand–the paper, the binding, the smell, the whole aesthetic experience. This is not about being “unevolved”–it is a question of superiority, the better quality.

Furthermore, what no one mentions in these articles about self publishing is how atrociously bad most of these books are. You see references to this Hocking girl–few of the writers bother to actually critique what they knee-jerk praise. And the money? Or “Filthy Lucre” as it is better called–well, in the words of (real) writer HL Mencken: “No one has ever gone broke selling junk to the masses”.

Ladies and Gentlemen, a revelation: not everyone is a writer. And those who are have names like Graham Greene, William Faulkner and Katherine Anne Porter.

I like your article and think point #3 in particular is a good one that could really benefit more self-published authors. The game has definitely changed. It used to be all about finding an actual publisher to accept your work and get you into the bookstores. Now, it’s all about PR and trying to stand out in an overcrowded online market. The advent of self-publishing means that virtually anyone can do it. Having a book is no longer seen as an instant credibility booster. I would bet 95% of authors never sell more than 100 books. In fact many authors claim to be best selling authors because on 1 specific day they sold about 100 books on Amazon. Not that impressive is it? To be successful in this new era of bookselling, you need to be an excellent speaker, have a strong platform, a clear niche, an excellent hook/pitch and know how to promote yourself. I highly recommend learning how to to PR yourself – it’s the only way to do it when you are new and just starting out and it will leave you in good stead if you want to make a living as a writer. Rhondalynn is the author of Sales Seduction http://tinyurl.com/actsnuf

APE sounds like a book geared to pre-published writers. Most authors I know are already aware of the take-aways mentioned since self-publishing has exploded in the last year and a half. I would have liked to see something more cutting edge or speculative–Maybe APE 2.